I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Red-Headed Stepchild
by
Jaye Wells
urban fantasy in a paperback edition that was published by Orbit on April 1, 2009 and has 325 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Mage in Black, Green-Eyed Demon, Silver-Tongued Devil, Blue-Blooded Vamp
First in the Sabina Kane urban fantasy series about a half-vampire, half-mage assassin hated and manipulated by her vampire family.
My Take
Wells introduces the traumas and characters of the series in this story. And I am not impressed. Wells is overly dramatic and kept me checking to see how much more of this I had to crawl through. However, I did enjoy the prequel Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2: “Vampsploitation”, so I’ll go on to try The Mage in Black to ensure it’s not just first book jitters. And Wells has created an interesting set of cultures in the vampires, the mages, and the fae with a nice bit of tension and conflict. She certainly has an original theory for the evolution of vampires.
I wish Wells had provided greater background on Sabina’s career as an assassin at least to equal what was provided in the prequel. What’s a “mancy”? Wells first seems to consider it as a separate species from vampires, mages, and fae, but then she goes on to use the term to refer to mages…I think.
I hope the writing gets better. Sabina is just too easy in her acceptance of Clovis. She’ll make one crack, Clovis calls her on it, and she immediately caves…puh-lease. I can’t imagine a blind and deaf idiot falling for her routine. Wells writes as though Sabina had some smarts and…it just ain’t there for me. Instead of moving in with Vinca, she should have insisted on her own space.
I’m beginning to think Wells created a macro to automatically paste the same sentence in every few chapters. I’m really getting bored reading “Vinca’s gift of prophecy hand’t exactly been impressive so far.” I’m assuming that if Lavinia is a vampire “alpha” that we won’t be reading of any shifters…
Wells does provide some good teasers, even though there is so much conflicting information flying back and forth. Clovis’ true purposes and the lengths to which he pushes Sabina. Her grandmother’s actions. The truth behind the blood winery and its ingredients. Adam’s kidnapping. It all clues Sabina in to the betrayals against her.
The Story
Sabina’s grandmother has ordered her to kill her friend and fellow assassin, David Duchamp. For David has gone over to the enemy, a traitor to his people. Then a confrontation at Sepulchre provides her grandmother with the excuse to force Sabina to undertake an undercover assignment, infiltrating Clovis’ group.
And introduces her to Adam Lazarus, a mage sent to find her.
The Characters
Sabina Kane is a half-breed: half-vampire, half mage. Her grandmother, Lavinia, and all other vampires consider her a lesser being and treat her as less. Heck, it’s the only reason a woman of such noble bloodlines on both sides is forced into assassin training. She has spent her entire life, so far, trying desperately to please her grandmother. Her mother’s name was Phoebe — she died in childbirth while Tristan‘s body, her father’s, was never found. Giguhl/Mr. Kitty is a fun demon. Sent to test Sabina, he can’t go home again until Sabina finds out who sent him. I sure did enjoy his Shopping Channel exploits!
Lavinia is the Alpha of the Dominae — “the joke is that she pre-dates the discover of fire”; Persephone and Tanith are her co-rulers. Ewan is a vampire who owns Sepulchre, a very popular club in Silverlake; he deals in information and considers himself Switzerland. Too bad, grandma didn’t!
Clovis Trakiya is a half-vamp, half-demon mixed-blood who has started his own little religious cult — think of all the sexual abuses in the real-life cults and polygamy group, and you’ll have a good idea of what he’s up to. He’s preaching unity amongst all the races and recruiting vamps, fae, and mages and negotiating an alliance with the Hekate Council [of mages] which is creating problems for the Dominae, the vampire ruling council. Franco Allegheri is Clovis’ second-in-command. Vinca is a nymph, a fae, with whom Clovis insists that Sabina room; naturally, she’s also his spy. Three other faeries come along on the wine ops: Darius, Garrick, and Warrick.
Adam Lazarus is a mage sent by the mage side of Sabina’s family. Briallen Pimpernel is the fae who provided maternity care to Sabina’s mother and attended the birth; she reveals a mighty secret to Sabina.
The Cover and Title
The cover is certainly bad-ass with the red-haired Sabina swiftly checking over her tattooed shoulder, a gun holstered just forward of her hip.
The title refers to Sabina’s extreme lack of status amongst her vampire “peers”; she is the Red-Headed Stepchild whom everyone beats on.
